Skype for grandma: make it as easy as possible

Question

Skype

There is a netbook + internet. By default, windows 7 is installed.
It can be changed to any axis.

The task is minimal: to make sure that only Skype is launched when the lid is opened, and that it is impossible to exit it in any way.

The task is maximum: to simplify the interface to a list of users and a call button.

Tell me which way to dig.

Answer 1

As it turned out in my case, many grandmothers are quite trainable. Try it.
As a last resort, you can try
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
to change the Shell key so that instead of explorer, skype starts. But maybe it's easier to show what to poke into? The mouse / touchpad is still taught to use! With a touchscreen, of course, it will be the easiest.

Answer 2

my grandmother is 80 years old, gave me a laptop with win7
, uses search, reads about pensions and news) watches online series, watches santa barbara and other series downloaded from torrents,
don't underestimate grandmothers!

Answer 3

1. skype one of the previous versions with the ability to expand the video window on auto-reply to full screen.
2. enable auto-reply for contacts from the list.
3. teamviewer - for remote administration , the
result: we call grandma, Skype picks up the phone and expands the video to full screen, after auto-hooking the phone, we call grandma to go to the netbook with her voice.

Answer 4

I think optimally Linux + Skype on the first tty. In case of any failure, the Xs will start up again, and they will start Skype. Under Linux, it's simple. Few buttons, etc. it's better to leave it like this. If that teach to write messages. Suddenly there will be problems with the sound settings, for example, it will probably be possible to give instructions on what to click where. Can she move the mouse point by point?
pidgin is not very suitable, in fact it launches skype and makes a shell for messages but not for calls. Skype window will appear, etc. not an option.

Answer 5

not quite in the subject, but I installed teamviewerQs for my parents,
now whatever happens to their computer - they just run this simplified version of the team viewer and tell me the ID with a password, and I get full access to their computer
in this way if your grandmother accidentally uninstalls Skype - it's okay, everything can be restored. And she can dictate an ID with a password over the phone

Answer 6

Cancel skype. Its gui seems impossible to simplify, and there are no alternative clients.

Answer 7

The simplest thing I think will be to provide my grandmother with a videophone for Skype.

Answer 8

I remember that in some of the Linux window managers there were settings for individual windows - such as the position of the window and custom buttons (prohibit closing and minimizing the window). I don't know how it is now.
Maybe for Windows there is something third-party with such functionality.
I myself set up the computer for my parents - a nettop under Ubuntu (for the sake of stability and “virus-free”). The only problem with Skype was that if you accidentally launched two copies (without noticing the small tray icon), it stopped logging in automatically the next time it was started and forgot the password.

Answer 9

On the one hand, Linux is certainly preferable for grandmothers, on the other hand, Skype itself still does not work well on Linux, especially on weak machines such as netbooks. Faced with three netbooks, everywhere Skype works with some kind of glitches and brakes in Ubuntu. On large laptops and on the desktop - everything is ok. So I can’t confidently advise Linux for Skype on a netbook like this. The rest is, of course, only Linux. For mothers and grandmothers, this is the best system for sure.

Answer 10

Well you give. Have pity on your grandmother in her old age:
http://www.voip-shop.ru/asus_aiguru_sv1t.htm

Answer 11

Did you find any solution? Please share. It became a necessity too.

Answer 12

I bought my parents a Skype phone zyxel. Plus I bought a gsm gateway to it. Very cool stuff

Answer 13

About three years ago I bought my grandmother an acer iconia tablet for the same purposes - remote communication via Skype. Grandma was then 87. They removed everything superfluous from the start page, leaving only the Skype icon and a camera to take pictures. Grandma learned quickly, called, pleased at night. But the years go by, the granny swims up to 90, and the software does not become friendlier. Skype, with God's help, has been updated to a new version and has ceased to be friends with the mobile Internet. Grandma is depressed.
Relatives helped - they made grandma wai-fah. Skype worked, but the new version turned out to be not very edible for people at that age like a granny - an inconvenient interface and small icons. Older versions don't work at all.
Grandma did not give up and adapted to this innovation. But the problems didn't end there. The tablet, apparently accustomed to the mobile Internet for a couple of years, periodically does not want to automatically connect to wi-fi, and it happens that it switches to airplane mode. They taught granny to turn on wi-fi herself and fight airplanes on the screen.
But she started having problems charging her tablet...
It seems to me that all these little problems are driving the granny crazy. It has become easier to talk on the phone than to remotely find out what new magic is happening with this screen in her hands.
It’s a pity for my grandmother, but she can’t refuse video communication anymore. I'm used to it.
I also doubt the transition to a new device - a new device, new problems. I already want something for her that I pressed "on" and everything works (although in principle it was the same with the old version of Skype).
I wish you all good luck in finding the best solution for communicating with loved ones at a distance.